My Spy (2020) Movie Review

Director: Peter Segal

Writer: Erich Hoeber, Jon Hoeber (Screenplay)

Starring: Dave Bautista, Chloe Coleman, Parisa Fitz-Henley, Kristen Schaal, Greg Bryk, Ken Jeong, Nicole Correia-Damude

Plot: A hardened CIA operative finds himself at the mercy of a precocious 9-year-old girl, having been sent undercover to surveil her family.

Tagline – He’s a Pro. She’s a Natural.

Runtime: 1 Hour 39 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Enjoyable Comedy

Story: My Spy starts as new CIA agent JJ (Bautista) goes off script on his mission, leading to him needing to be scaled down to a surveillance mission with new partner, in tech operator Bobbi (Schaal), the pair must watch over a mother Kate (Fitz-Henley) and her daughter Sophie (Coleman) who have a connection which could be a lead to the man that JJ lost.

When Sophie discovers the two watching them, she decides to blackmail them into being a friend, with JJ filling a void in her life, while opening him up to letting people in his life, learning more about himself.

Thoughts on My Spy

Characters – JJ is a former soldier turned CIA agent, he does lack the undercover skills, which he does make up in his military training, he is reluctant to work with a new partner, seeing his latest mission as a bad one he has no interest in. he gets caught out and must do what young Sophie says or see his cover exposed, seeing him being a fish out of water, turning from closed off from the world to learning to enjoy it again. Sophie is the young girl that is still trying to adapt to her new life, struggling to make friends, before turning to JJ to be another adult figure in her life, showing the skills to play JJ to put the smile back on her face. Kate is the mother of Sophie, the lady that JJ is meant to be watching over, she is struggling to adapt to her new life, balancing being an ER nurse and mother, which sees her letting her down at times. Bobbi is the partner to JJ, she idolises him and can’t wait to work with him, only to find him being distant from her, with her first mission in the field.

Performances – Dave Bautista is great in the leading role showing his skill for comedy in a way that we don’t see from other action heavy stars. Chloe Coleman does a great job in her role too, showing great chemistry with Dave. The rest of the cast get their laughs when needed, working well through the film.

Story – The story here follows a rookie CIA agent who must work on a surveillance mission, only he gets caught out and must teach the young girl who caught him how to be a spy. The story is enjoyable to watch, the whole CIA versus the villain side does take a firm backseat for the story, while we focus on the unlikely friendship between the former soldier turn CIA agent and the little girl that wants to be a spy. We get to address how difficult it can be to fit in as a child in a new environment, how soldiers could see their lives becoming very isolated, with the two helping each other, showing help can come from strange locations. We could easily say we have seen stories like this before, with other big name action stars, this does do enough to stand on its own on the buddy side, but does become forgettable when it comes to the mission.

Action/Comedy – The action in the film is entertaining, with the fights working well, certain scenes getting a laugh too, this is where the comedy steps up, the pairing of JJ and Sophie will get most the laughs, though the supporting people around them interact well through the film for even more laughs.

Settings – The film uses the basic surveillance settings through the film, it is mostly an apartment building and the surrounding Chicago location, it works well enough for the film, without needing to be anything more.

Scene of the Movie – The plane.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The mission does seem to just be in the background too much.

Final Thoughts – This is an entertaining comedy that the family could enjoy, it will get enough laughs and continues to show Dave Bautista becoming a bigger name in the action comedy world.

Overall: Great Fun.